Mold for pneumatic tires.



N. W. MGLEOD 8: M. A. DEBS. MOLD FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES. APPLIGATION PILEDMAY 8, 1911. RENEWED PEB.19,1913.

1,1 14,280. Patented 001. 20, 1914.

N (WA I LaQd Z a 20 I 16*. g Y M. 1 .13 6 I I y Mimi 1m auto? 6 N. W.McLEOD & M. A. DEBS. MOLD FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES. APPLIUATION FILED MAY 8.1911. RENEWED FEB.19,1913.

1,1 14,280, Patented 00t.20,1914.

. 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

knvenhor's'. Abbas): N .W M Laod Q3. M.A.D6e$

I by Apb'vs.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NELSON W. MOLEOD, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, AND MARK A. DEES, OFPASCAGOULA,

MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNORS T0 AMERICAN TIRE COMPANY, OF ST.. LOUIS,MISSOURI,

A CORPORATION or MISSOURI.

MOLD FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

Application filed May 8, 1911, Serial No. 625,784.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, NELSON W. MCLEOD andMARI; A. Duns, citizens of the United States of America, residing in thecity of St. Louis and State of Missouri and in Pascagoula, in the countyof Jackson and State of Mississippi, respectively, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Molds for Pneumatic Tires, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

Our invention relates to a mold for ,use in the manufacture of the outercasings of pneumatic tires and in- Which the casings are treated forthepurpose of vulcanizing them, due to the carrying outof what iscommonly known as a cooking-or curing process, occasioned by thesubjection of the casings to steam or other heating medium.

The object of our invention is to produce a tire molding device by whichpneumatic tire casings may be expanded during the molding or cookingprocess and before the elements of the casings have become set by thecooking process and whereby the imperfections previously present in thecasings are avoided and the casings are produced in a normal conditionthat corresponds to their normal condition when they are in service.

Figure I is a side elevation of our mold, partly broken out, to exposethe core therein. Fig. II is a cross section through the mold. Fig. IIIis an enlarged cross section through the mold.

In the accompanying drawings: 1 designates the outer or shell sectionsof our mold. These sections are in the form of hollow rings, eachsection being of segmental shape in cross section. Each section 1 has aconcave inner wall corresponding to a cross sectional segment of apneumatic tire casing, preferably includin the usual beads at the inneredges of suc. a tire casing. Each outer mold section contains one ormore chambers 2 into which a heating medium,

such as steam, may be delivered, the heating medium being preferablyadmitted to the chambers through delivery pipes 3 and discharged throughoutlet pipes t. The shell sections are designed to be drawn toward eachother to confine the parts within them, to be hereinafter particularlymentioned, by

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914. Renewed February 19, 1913. Serial No. 749,531.

gage slotted lugs 'Z on the other shell sec-" tion, the nuts beingoperable to cause desired approach of the shell sections toward eachother. The draw members just mentioned are located both at the inner andouter circles of the mold sections, as seen in the drawings.

Centrally'arranged within the shell sections is a core comprising aplurality of hollow sections 8 and 8 which, when placed with their endsin abutment against each other, producea hollow circular corecorresponding in shape to the shape of the intenor of a pneumatic tirecasing, with the exception of that portion of the casing immediatelyadjacent the edges at the inner circle of the casing, This core is madeof sections to permitof'its being readily arranged within the tirecasing A and readily withdrawn from such casing after the easing hasbeen molded, and the ends of the core sections are preferably beveled,as seen in Fig. I, so that when the sections-are assembled, they willfit closely against each other to produce the circular shape of the.

core and effect comparatively close joints between the core sections.The core sections are perforated, as. shown in the drawings, to permitthe heating medium being delivered into the ,core passing therethroughand to the surrounding tire casing, with the object in view of expandingthe casing between the core and the inner faces of the shell sections 1.In this connection, it should be stated that the core and the innerfaces of the shell sections are spaced apart, relative to each other, toa degree greater than the cross section of the tire casing that is to bemolded, thereby making it possible for the tire casing to be expanded orstretched outwardly from the core, when it is acted upon by the pressureof heating medium as it passes through the perforated core. Theadmission and dis-.

charge of heating medium to and from: the core of the mold is providedfor by pipes 9 and 10.

Atthe inner circle of the core is an endless packing ring 11 held to thecore sections by screws 12. The packing ring seats between the inneredges of the tire casing A and is tightly clamped thereto when thetherefore confines the heating medium in.

the casing so that it will accomplish its intended function of expandingthe casing to remove imperfections that would otherwise be presenttherein, and also at the same time .perform what is commonly known asthe cooking of the tire casing.

-We preferably provide within the shell of our mold a tread formingmember X removably mounted between the mold sections 1 and overlappingthe outer edges of said sections. This tread forming member may have aninner surface of any desired contour and may be provided at its innersurface with recesses or protuberances for the purpose of producingeither protuberances upon or recesses in the tread casing produced inthe mold.

We claim:

1'. A tire mold comprising a sectional shell within which the tirehaving separable edges is housed and a hollow circularcore within saidshell, the said core comprising a plurality of curved hollow sections,the said core sections having open ends abutting against and incontinuous communication with each other throughout the core, and meansfor conducting a fluid pressure heating medium into the core at itsinner circle, the wall of the core being perforated and the core beingimperforate at its inner circle aside from the fluid conducting means.

2. A tire mold comprising a sectional shell within which the tire havingseparable edges is housed and a hollow circular core within said shell,the said core comprising a plurality of curved hollow sections, the saidcore sections having open ends abutting against and in continuouscommunication with each other throughout the core, means for conductinga fluid pressure heating medium into the core at its inner circle, thewall of the core being perforated and the core being imperforate' at itsinner circle aside from the fluid conducting means, and said core beingprovided at its inner circle of the tire- I ring,

with a packing adapted to seat between the separable edges of the tire.

3. A tire mold comprising a sectional shell within which the tire havingseparable edges is housed and a hollow circular core within said shell,the said core comprising a plurality of curved hollow sectionsperforated at the periphery and sides of the core, the said coresections having open ends abutting against and in continuouscommunication with each other throughout the core, means for conductinga fluid pressure heating medium into the core at its inner circle, thecore being imperforate at its inner circle aside from the fluidconducting means. and a packing ring connecting said core sections atthe inner circle of 'the core.

4:. A tire mold composed of a pair of hollow mold sections adapted tosurround the tire, a packing ring adapted to be held between the inneredges of a tire confined by said mold sect-ions, hollow core sectionsprovided with perforations and arranged between said mold sections withtheir ends abutting against each other to produce a hollow circularcore, means for connecting said hollow core sections to said packing theends of said core sections being .open to allow fluid to pass from onesection to another, and means forintroducing a fluid pressure andheating; medium into the hollow core formed by said hollow perforatedsections.

5. A tire mold comprising a shell composed of a pair of hollow moldsections each having aconcave inner wall adapted to engage the exteriorof the tire, means'for introducing a heating medium into each of saidshell sections, a tread forming member removably mounted between saidsections, a packing ring adapted to be held between the inner edges of atire confined by said shell sections, a plurality of curved hollowsections provided with perforations and arranged between the shellsections with their ends abut-ting against each other to produce ahollow circular core, means for connecting the last mentioned sectionsto said packing ring, and means for introducing a fluid pressure andheating medium into said hollow circular core.

. N. W. MoLEOD.

M. A. DEES. In the presence of E. B. LINN, A. J McCAULEY.

